Carlisle's Choice
by BetShesBeautiful
Summary: Edward Masen. That was the boy's name. He seemed so innocent. I knew the guilt I would feel after doing this would be immense. He didn't deserve the pain. But I promised to save him... Carlisle PoV


Disclaimer: I do not own the Twilight series.

This story is about Carlisle's thoughts when he was making the decision to change Edward and during the actual transformation. PLEASEPLEASEPLEASE! Review if you read it. All the stories I write get about two review if I'm lucky. **PLEASE review!** Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy it.

**Carlisle's Choice**

I held my breath. It was all I could do not to breathe. With all of those ill people with high fevers, the smell of blood was very tempting. I would never lose control, though. The people deserved to die with at least a little dignity. In other words, I'm sure they would rather die of illness than be eaten. There was one boy whose mother and father had died. I remembered him because he stayed with them as they were dying. He was stubborn and wouldn't admit he had the disease until they died. Then I knew it was too late for him.

There was one quality I picked up from his visits: understanding. I had listened to him talk to his unconscious parents for hours while I treated them. He talked about taking care of their house after they died, he talked about how he would miss them, but how it wasn't their fault and he knew they loved him. And it hurt me to see this young boy in so much pain. Little did I know he would become one of my kind. His mother had talked to me about him. She told me to keep him alive at all costs. I didn't plan on changing him, but that was when I hadn't known he was sick. He had a will to live, though, because he stayed alive longer than any Spanish influenza patient I had all through this epidemic.

But here and now, with all of these dead people surrounding me, I could hear his weakening heartbeat slowly deteriorating and I knew I had to. People asked me to keep their loved ones safe and alive all the time. It never meant so much to me before now, though. I leaned in close to him and asked him questions to see if he would hear me and listen.

"What's your name? How old are you?" His eyes opened to show bloodshot green orbs.

"Edward Masen." He gasped. "I'm seventeen." His chest heaved and he coughed violently. I knew for sure now what I had to do.

"Edward. I'm sorry for what I am going to put you through, but it will save you. I promise you will live." I had been working for days on end without enough time to hunt. It was as though I had to promise this dying boy that I wouldn't drink all his blood just so I would reassure myself. I was very hungry, and they all smelled appetizing, but I would just have to control myself to save this Edward.

As my teeth gently (as gently as a vampire's teeth could) pierced his skin, he let out a scream. His eyes shot open and he grasped my hand. I had never done this before and I knew it would be hard to watch. I picked him up and carried him out of the infirmary. As I got out of the hospital, I began to run home. His screams began to pierce what was perfect silence. From what I knew, there was no citizen of Chicago who was outside of the hospital. The emptiness made it even harder to concentrate on not killing this boy here and now. When I got into my house, I set him down and retrieved pillow I kept for any humans that needed sleep who happened to drop by. (Convenient, isn't it?)

The next three days were torture for Edward Masen. He seemed to quiet down after a while, maybe growing accustomed to the pain. I still felt horrible every time he screamed or winced or moaned. I knew I had brought it on him and it was selfish of me to do it. I just wanted company; I probably wouldn't have kept Elizabeth Masen's promise if I wasn't so lonely. Finally, after about three days I heard his heart stop. He stayed in the same position for a few seconds before standing up and roaring loudly. He was hungry. I grabbed him around the shoulders, but still had trouble containing him. Newborns had more strength that even the strongest of old vampires.

"Edward. Calm down. Just wait." He stayed livid for thirty minutes as I pinned him against a wall. If my neighbors had been home, they would have thought I was being mauled by a bear. Finally, I got him calm. He slumped against the wall and began to cry. He was obviously surprised that he didn't have tears, but he ignored it for the time being. I began to comfort him. Then, I explained what he had become. It was strange when I told him. He looked completely unbelieving. There was silence for a long time. I was sitting on the couch, waiting for him to say something. I was now even more guilty than before. He was probably very angry.

"How could I be angry? You saved my life." I looked at him with wide eyes.

"What? How did you know…" I stared, confused and pondering. "You can read my mind." I kind of understood. I supposed his strong qualities had carried over from his human life.

"I… I…" he was speechless.

"Are you hungry?" I wondered in my thoughts.

"Not for what I normally want to eat. So, we eat animals? Not people." I'm sure it was strange for him. I remembered how weird and estranged I felt after. I'm sure the chivalry would wear off after a year or so and then he wouldn't feel bad about wanting to drink human blood.

"Exactly. I really need to go back to the hospital, though. I can't take you with me. Look, there is a forest outside of the city, we can run there and then come back."

"But that forest is miles outside of the city. It would take us days."

"I promise you, it won't." I smiled.


End file.
